your salvation draweth nigh

i put my name on a list

open mic night

i made the mistake of showing up sober

words were sodomized over and over

and i drank to mourn their rape

 

my turn

i recited what i had learned

on the dark streets of decay

spit on the floor

and walked away

 

twenty feet towards freedom

and she grabbed my hand

told me how my words blew her away

“oh, how cute, a fan”

i almost did say

but i am not that much of a prick

 

i flipped open the top to my box of cigarettes

and offered her one like a child sharing

his favorite crayons

she took one and i found my lighter

and lit us both up

 

“i didn’t really understand your words”

she told me

i laughed and said,

“don’t worry, neither do i,

let’s go have a drink

and unravel the mysteries together”

 

hey don’t kid yourself

all act of indifference aside

an artist wants an audience

even if it’s just an audience of one

 

we never stopped at a bar

we walked and talked about things near and far

and i never once mentioned molecules

or quantum mechanics

 

we found her front door

the sum of everything that came before

and she invited me in

she actually had gin

and we finally had that drink

but i was already intoxicated

by all the conversation that we had had

 

her tongue tasted like cigarettes

and everything after you’ll just have to guess

but afterward we continued to talk

and i thought that tomorrow night

i may not be going out for a walk

 

***